When The Past Catches Up
by Mrs. Hotchner-Wolfe
Summary: A number of killings bring back memoryies for Ryan. Criminal Minds Xover. Chapters 3 and 4 now up with Ryan's secret. WARNING: Some readers may find chapter 4 disturbing.
1. Concerned Colleagues

This is really beautiful,_ 15-year-old Ryan Wolfe thought as he reached the top of the tree. He stood up and began to walk to the edge of the branch._

_" Ryan," he heard his neighbour Aaron call his name and lost his balance. He fell and hit his head off the jagged rocks below..._

" Mr. Wolfe," Ryan heard his boss call his name anxiously and was brought back to reality " Mr. Wolfe, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just waiting on the trace results." Horatio gave him the look that told Ryan he knew he was lying. " H., I'm fine. I've just got a lot on my mind. Nothing to worry about. I'm fine." Ryan smiled a smile Horatio knew was fake. Horatio nodded, though knowing all too well that there was more to it then that.

They stood there for seconds, minutes maybe, in Silence, Ryan wondering how long Horatio had been standing there, calling his name, Horatio wondering what was on his newest and youngest CSIsmind when finally the machine next to Ryan started whizzing and spat out a piece of paper. Ryan went and Picked it up.

" Trace Natalia found on the carpet in the victims house is the main ingredient in an anti-depressant and is a match with the trace found in the glass and with the drug in the tox report for both blood pools. It's also a match to what we found in the last two vics." The look on Horatio's face told him he was going to do something he really didn't want to do.

" O.K. Thank you, Mr. Wolfe. Why don't you take a break? You look like you haven't stopped in days!" He smiled and Ryan smiled back. He turned and headed for the door. " Oh and ah, Mr. Wolfe..." Ryan looked up. " If you need some time off... if you need anything at all...all you have to do is ask and we'll sort something out. "

" Thanks," Ryan said quietly, touching his fore head, as Horatio left, talking on the phone.

As Horatio walked into the breakroom, he saw Delko, Alexx, Calleigh, Natalia and Speed.

" Hey H. We're heading out for lunch. Coming?" Speed asked.

" Ah. No. I'm waiting for a call. FBI!" Everyone groaned.

"Hey anyone know where Wolfe is?" Delko asked.

"No." everyone answered.

" I saw him trace but I think he headed out... Has anyone noticed anything different about our young Mr. Wolfe?"

" Apart from him not being here gettin' in on all the girly gossip!" Speed joked. Delko laughed.

" Actually," Calleigh said, " he has been acting a little strange the last few days."

" And not half as focused as he usually is," Alexx added. " When the first rape victim was brought in, he was there for the autopsy and after going through all that, I looked up and he was just staring at the body, I thought he was crying, I had to go over everything again."

" I asked him what was wrong, he said he had alot on his mind," Horatio said.

" And you believe that?" Natalia asked.

" No."

"You don't... you don't think he knew the vic, do ya?" Delko asked.

" I don't think so," Horatio said. " But whatever it is, I hope he'll talk to someone about it. Soon."

Ryan sat alone in a booth in the diner down the road from the lab. It was where cops would go to hang out, get coffee. Talk. He sat with two empty cups, one full with coffee, a burger with one bite taken out of it and his cell. He had called his mother, who yelled at him for not calling enough, asked for the number of Aaron Hotchner and left five messages for him. They hadn't talked since before Ryan left for college. Aaron was his neighbour and Ryan's best friend. Ryan was the son Aaron had yearned for and he was the father Ryan had always wanted. They had shared secrets and Hotch was the only one who could help Ryan with this

Aaron was a lawyer but moved to when Ryan was seventeen to join the BAU. They wrote short letters but lost all contact within weeks. Ryan always called Aaron Hotch and Hotch always called Ryan "kiddo" or "twerp" or even son.

Now he was the only one who Ryan could talk to. He was there through it all.

_Ryan woke up in a hospital bed and opened his eyes to see a very worried Aaron Hotchner. He tried to talk but failed miserably. " Don't try talk kiddo. You'll do more harm then good." Ryan managed to mouth the words, "My Parents"_

_" Your Dad is at the lab," he told him, reaching for the glass of water. He handed it to Ryan, " your mother is in a meeting." Ryan smirked and looked around the room. Aaron Hotchner was the only one in the room. Ryan felt a searing pain in his head. He reached up and felt around. He hit a bandage and yelled in pain. " Hey, take it easy, Ok. When you fell you hit your head pretty hard on the rocks. You also broke your leg." _

_" What?! No!! I have the game in a few days, the team needs me!"_

_" Well you won't be playing on that leg. not for a few weeks at the least! Sorry, Buddy!" He fell back and groaned. After a few minutes he fell into a restless sleep. _

" Ryan. Ryan," he heard Calleigh say and felt a slight jab in his side. This brought him out of his daze and he stared up, confused, at his three other colleagues, staring worriedly back at him. " Hey there, day-dreamer. Mind if we join you?" she said brightly, even though it was obvious that it was fake."

Ryan shook his head slightly. " Ah, here," he said, throwing down a twenty dollar bill onto the table and getting up, " I'm done." He hurried toward the exit

" Come on, Wolfe," Delko called.

" You barely started your burger, " Tim stated.

Ryan turned a walked backwards, " I wasn't that hungry and I got to get back to the lab." And with that Ryan turned around and ran out the door. Calleigh turned and saw from the looks on her colleagues' faces that they felt what she did


	2. We're going to Miami!

CUT TO BAU

Aaron Hotchner had just gotten off the phone with Horatio Caine and sat in his office, phone to his ear, waiting for Penelope Garcia to answer her phone.

_" Office of Supreme Genius!!"_

" Garcia, I need you to pull files on Horatio Caine and his team in Miami and get them to me ASAP, please."

_" Background checks??"_ He could hear her typing away already.

"Mm-hm. Get me Ryan Wolfe's first, the others can wait a while."

_" On it!" _She hung up and Aaron went back to his thoughts. He hadn't spoken to Ryan in 8 years, the day Ryan turned 17, the same day Aaron left to join the BAU. He had thrown him a little party consisting of Ryan, Haylie and Aaron. Aaron had gotten Ryan a camera, while they both chipped in for a car so he could drive over to visit when ever he wanted. But he never did.

The wrote to each other but lost contact within months. When he was fifteen, Ryan had decided to become a CSI after he realised his basketball career was never gonna happen.

" Hotch?" He had to shake himself back to reality. He saw Garcia with a file. "You O.K?"

" Yeah, just... in a different time, that's all." He indicated the file " What's that?"

" You said you wanted Ryan Wolfe's file ASAP."

" I meant whenever you could, I didn't mean for you to drop everything." She gave him a look that said, _Are you kidding?_

" It only took a second to download."

" Thanks, Garcia." He reached over and took the file from her. he waited until she had left to open it. He opened it at the beginning and began reading. He needn't have bothered. He knew exactly what the file had contained at the beginning. He flipped further ahead as though looking for something until he was interrupted by a knock on the door. " Yeah," he said without breaking away from the search. Jason Gideon stood in the door.

" Looking for something." Hotch looked up and smiled. " What's that?"

Hotch took a deep breath. " Background checks." He closed the file.

" Where this time?"  
" Miami. Dade to be exact."

" Horatio Caine! Good L.T. "

" So I've heard. You worked with him before?"

" Yeah. Long time ago, though. Why?"

" No reason. I just know someone from a long time ago. He was going to be a CSI and last I heard he was in Miami. Thought we could catch up." Garcia walked back in with a box of files.

" This cannot be good for my back."

" What's all this?" Gideon asked as she put the box on a table.

" Background checks," Hotch and Garcia said at the same time. At that moment, the fax machine started whizzing and shot out two sheets. Hotch picked one up and read it. " 'A quick note on our guy.'" He picked up the other sheet and read it. " Round everyone up in the conference room."

"He stabs, burns, beats and rapes his victims. He's erratic ," Hotch concluded and looked at his team. Garcia was the only one showing anything: disgust!

" Is that all we've got on this guy? Or do we now more?" Morgan asked.

" He's sick! What more do you want, Derek?" Elle shot.

" Do we have any files?" JJ asked.

" Only on the criminalists," Hotch answered.

" Wow. In the years Horatio Caine has been working there, the success rate is number 1. They can solve crimes in a matter of hours," Reid told them.

" We're going to Miami. Plane leaves in an hour." Hotch announced and left.

CUT TO PLANE

"So when did Caine call you?" Morgan asked.

"Sorry?" Hotch asked. Since there was no more news, Gideon and Reid played chess, Hotch, Morgan and Elle played Bullshit and JJ watched the two games. " Oh-ah, just after one today. I'm surprised he didn't follow procedure and call JJ first..."

" Sure like JJ doesn't have enough to do," she said, audibly.

"...but I was at lunch when he called so I had to call him back. Bullshit!" Elle had supposedly put down three Aces but he had two.

" Wha-? Prove it!" she challenged. He picked up the cards she put down and turned them over to reveal a J, a 7 and a 3.

" Pick 'em up," he said triumphantly.

" So what do we know 'bout these guys?" Morgan asked, grinning

Hotch put down his card. " Horatio Caine, head of the Crime Lab. His brother died, left a son and a wife behind and Horatio to pick up the pieces. Horatio married Marisol Delko but she was killed by Mala Noche. Calleigh Duquesne, parents are divorced, father's a lawyer and an alcoholic. She's engaged to Eric Delko, who's sister was Marisol. He got shot in the head by a man hired by Clavo Cruz. Natalia Boa Vista was in an abusive marriage before moving to Miami and joining Horatio's Team. She was given a grant by the FBI on the condition she reported back to them on the lab. Tim Speedle, he's had several incidents with poor gun maintenance and is married to Maxine Valera. Pathologist Alexx Woods, married with two children, Frank Tripp, divorced with three children, and the youngest of the team... Ryan Wolfe."

"What do we know about him?" Gideon asked.

" I haven't looked at his file yet, but he was a good kid when he was younger." He never lied to his team, but he knew that they would be profiling the team and he wanted to profile Ryan himself.

" How do you know this?"

" I grew up next door to him. He hung out at my place alot. He actually wanted to be a basketball player when he grew up but he lost interest in it." _Don't go over board. _" One 7!" Hotch put down his last card. " I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm just gonna catch a few minutes before we land!" He got up and walked to the couch.

" You want me to go over Wolfe's case file for you?" JJ asked.

" No I'll do it on the way to the lab... If Morgan doesn't mind driving!!"

" Hell No." Hotch smiled and sat down and looked at his team feeling like he had just betrayed them.


	3. The Date

CUT TO MIAMI

" No chance!" Calleigh had been trying to get Ryan to agree to a date with a friend of hers and kept asking him why when he said no.

" Give me one good reason... and "because" isn't a reason!"

" Look, Cal, I'm really not in the right place to pursue a relationship with anyone and... I really don't want to!" He was sure he had her now!

" Neither is she. Ryan, please... She's been single for months after the guy took all her money and left her with practically nothing... Please I just wanna restore her faith in men, please!!!" Ryan saw that Calleigh wasn't going to ease up and saw the only way to save himself a whole lot of hassle.

" Fine!" he said, defeated

Calleigh's face lit up. " Ohhh thank you thank you." She threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug. "Thank you... I love you!"

" Alright, alright, get off a me!" Ryan said pushing her off of him. " And don't ever say "I love you" to me again!"

"Got it." She went to the fridge and got a drink. " So it's club rock at seven-thirty. She'll be in the back. She owns the club so the bouncer should know you're gonna show. Ohh, I almost forgot...!" She said turning her back to the door she was about to walk through. " Tell him you're looking for Vivienne!"

So Ryan arrived at the club at seven-forty-five. He told who he was and that he was looking for Vivienne. He told Ryan she'd be in the back and let Ryan in. He found her in the back with a beers on the table. He walked up to her introduced himself and apologized for being late. They talked for hours. They had a lot in common and Ryan found himself incredibly attracted to her. Her jet black hair was hanging half way down her back even though she had it pulled into a high ponytail. They had so much in common. Ryan actually felt a pang of dread when he had reached the door to the apartment with her

" I had a really good time tonight!" he said honestly.

" Ya know," she said so close to him he could smell her perfume, " it doesn't have to end!" She threw her arms around him and gave him a deep kiss which caught Ryan off guard. She began moving her hands underneath his shirt.

Ryan managed to pull back. " Wow! That was unexpected," he said. pushing her away. " But it's getting late so I should go home!" Ryan pretended to yawn. " And I have a really long day ahead of me tomorrow!"

" I'll wake you up and I promise, you won't even have to go to sleep!" she said leaning in to kiss him again.

" I really can't. Love to but can't." He began heading for the elevator. " I'll call you!" He pushed the button for lobby. The doors slid open and Ryan made a dash for his car. When he arrived back at his apartment, he locked the door and hurried to the bathroom, taking all his clothes off as he went. He hopped into the shower, turned it on and let himself slide down. He hugged his knees and let tears roll down his face as he closed his eyes.

_Ryan, Hotch and Haley were sitting behind the players bench in a large basketball court. Ryan looked happy but it was obvious that he wanted to be out there. It was a foul ball and one of the older players was taking the shots._

_" Well, Wolfe, we could really use you out there!" Lambert said._

_" Don't blame him, Lambert, I practically had to force him to put on the cast," Hotch defended._

_"Think it'll be better before State Championship?"_

_" Should be, Coach. I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow to hopefully get the cast off so..."_

_" Tell you what, Wolfe... Get better before State Championships in a few weeks. I'll give you a few one on one sessions, get you up to speed. Sound good?"_

_" Lambert, don't push him!"_

_" It's the boys decision, Hotchner. What do you say, son, sound good?" He placed his hand on Ryan shoulder. Ryan nodded in agreement. Their attention turned back to the game. The player was taking his last shot. It was a draw and a few seconds left on the timer. If he got the shot, the game was theirs. He shot and ... it went in!_

_" Yes!!!!!!!! Panda's win!!!!!!!" the announcer stated. Ryan had never felt so happy although he wanted to be a part of it._

Ryan was out of the shower and looking at himself in the mirror. He had a towel around his waist and was carefully tracing a horrible looking and painful looking scar that was on his side, going across his stomach and down when he heard a knock on the door which was soon followed by Calleigh shouting through it. " Ryan... Open this god damn door right now!"

" Just a sec..." he replied as he quickly dried himself off and pulled on his clothes. He opened the front door to find a very pissed off Calleigh and a very worried looking Delko next to her

" What the HELL is your problem?" she yelled barging in.

" My problem!?" Ryan asked in disbelief. " What about your problem? You barge in here yelling at me about my problem and I don't even know what it is!!!"

Calleigh took a deep, calming breath. " I asked you to take Viv out to restore her faith in men... Instead ya just dent it more! I mean, come on, Ryan, she goes to kiss you and you freak out and run off. What the hell is that all about. Are ya gay?"

" No I'm not gay, Calleigh.. Look, You said it was nothing serious... She kissed me, tried to make it go further. I really wasn't interested. I told her no, let her down gently... Clearly she mustn't be good with rejection!"

Calleigh and Eric were shocked. " What's going on with you, Ryan... I've never heard you say anything like that about a woman before?" Calleigh said nearly crying.

" You know what Calleigh... You don't know one damn thing about me! And if you knew even half the crap I have to live with very god-forsaken day of my life, then you would know why I am the way I am!"

" Cal's right, Wolfe! We're all just worried about you, man... Please just let us in!" Eric said.

Ryan rarely heard Delko begging. He looked from one co-worker to the other and saw pain, fear and worry in their eyes. He knew it was serious. But he couldn't trust them, he couldn't let them in. Not yet!

" I'm sorry," he said. "Please just go!" They didn't move. "Look I really want to but I can't so could you please just get the hell out!" He turned his back away from them and as he walked to the bedroom he heard the door close. He closed his bedroom door behind him, lay on his bed and cried himself into a dream filled with nightmares.

**A/N: Ok folks. You will have to wait no longer. The moment you've all been waiting for. Ryan's secret! Dum dum dum!!!! WARNING: Some readers may find the next chapter disturbing!!**


	4. Familiar Faces and A Past Nightmare

**A/N Ryan's Secret is finally published**

As the BAU decided who'll do what, Horatio and his team were a million miles away; Calleigh and Eric had updated everyone on the events of last night. Ryan hadn't come in yet, which was strange considering he was never late. On top of all that, he wasn't answering his phone either.

Hotch began worrying too. Ryan was never late for anything in his life even events he didn't want to go to. He was worried that the case was affecting Ryan.

The teams disbanded; Morgan , Reid and Delko went to the last crime scene, Elle went to the Morgue with Alexx, Gideon went to the ballistics lab with Calleigh to see the impressions he was using, JJ went to the layout room with Natalia and Speed and Hotch decided to pay Ryan a visit.

While he waited for the elevator doors to open, his mind was racing miles an minute. When the doors finally opened, Ryan stepped out of the elevator. " Hotch!" he exclaimed. the older man smiled and gave Ryan a hug. "What are you doing here?"

" Caine called us in... Why are you late?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ryan was about to tell him everything, when Speed came up. " Hey, man. H wants to see you in his off now!" he said and walked away.

" Look... Now really isn't the time or the place to talk about this... Can we do this some other time!"

" Sure," Hotch said. He turned to leave. " Ahhh- where's the layout room?" Ryan smiled and showed him where to go.

He reached Horatio's office and saw he was doing paperwork. He knocked on the door and when Horatio looked up, he nodded Ryan in. " You wanted to see me, H.?"

"Yeah. Have a set?"

" Look, I'm sorry I'm late! I didn't sleep very well last night.!" he explained, sitting down.

" That's alright. Everyone's entitled to make mistakes... but I don't think it's yours!"

" What are you talking about?"

" You haven't been yourself lately and Calleigh and Eric told us about last night!"

"They had no right to do that."

" They mentioned you said you had to put up with a lot of crap in your life."

" Can you blame me for losing it a little and exaggerating ... I mean she wanted me to sleep with someone I wasn't attracted to! I mean, I don't do that... i don't have one-night-stands with random women!"

" Go home!"

" What?" Ryan was really confused.

" We don't need you today! All we're doing is getting the BAU caught up!" Ryan was about to argue with him. " We'll call you when we have something!" Horatio went back to his reports. Ryan got up and left. He went to the lay out room to see if Hotch wanted a coffee on him but only found Natalia with some pretty blonde girl he had never seen before. He decided to go home. When he got to the elevator he bumped into Calleigh and someone he figured was a profiler working with Hotch.

"Hey Ry," Calleigh said, but Ryan only walked past her and into the elevator, focusing on the wall.

The rest of the day was incredibly boring. He beat about three video games and watched about four seasons of Family Guy. At nine-thirty he decided to call it a night. Unfortunately for him, his sleep was filled with the nightmare he had the night before and many other nights.

_Ryan was alone on the court with Lambert. they were practising for the State Championships. Every shot Ryan took went in except for one._

_" You need to make sure your stance is right all the time, Wolfe. Take a sec to get into position, then take the shot!" Ryan got into position really quickly, pretending he was being ganged up on, and took the shot. It went in and he got that feeling he always did when a shot went in._

_Ryan felt something on his leg and turned to see Lambert kneeling down behind him._

_He didn't take any notice of it until the Sunday before the Championships began. He was practising again and had the ball. He was being chased by Lambert. He reached the hop and slam dunked the ball and beat Lambert by eight points._

_Lambert sat on the benches, breathing heavily. He threw Ryan a water bottle. " Not bad, Wolfe, but I wanna see that Friday night!"_

_" You will!" _

_Lambert got up and walked over to Ryan. " You know, Ryan, you remind me of myself when I was your age. Enthusiastic, smart, good. You'll do anything to please people, won't you?" He was really close to him now._

_" It depends, sir," Ryan said getting nervous._

_" I want you to do something for me!"_

_" What?"_

_" It'll have to be our little secret, Ryan. If anyone found out, I could lose my job, you would be kicked off the team!" Ran was beginning to get scared and wished for someone to come. " You're a really good kid, Ryan. I know you won't let me down! I know you'll make me proud!" He put his hand on Ryan's shoulders and began moving them down his arms, his hips and then..._

_" What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ryan asked pulling back. _

_" I think you know!" He leaned in, kissed Ryan and put his hands back down Ryan's pants. Ryan pulled away again._

_" Get the hell away from me!" _

_" Don't make me do something I really don't want to do!" Lambert said, getting angry._

_" Go to hell!" Ryan said and turned and walked away. Lambert came at him from behind and tackled him to the ground. He hit his head hard. Lambert began hitting him_. _Tears began streaming down Ryan's eyes. Lambert got a knife and put it through Ryan. It caused a huge gash on Ryan's side and Lambert began pulling it all the down Ryan's shorts. Lambert went down and bit Ryan hard. Ryan let out a blood-curdling scream and before he passed out from the pain he heard Lambert say, " this is just a example of what will happen to you if you tell anyone!"_

_When Ryan woke up again he was..._

...in his own bedroom, sitting up, tears and cold sweat pouring down his face, clutching the scar on his side, gasping!

**A/N Here it is. I know it's a bit disturbing and i apologize for that but please review.**


	5. When Fear becomes Reality

**When Fear becomes reality**

When Ryan Wolfe wok up again he was in his own bedroom, sitting up, tears and cold sweat pouring down his face, clutching the scar on his side, gasping! It had been the same routine every night for the past three weeks, ever since the first victim came in. He looked at his clock and noticed it was only four-thirty. He knew there was no point in going back to bed so instead he grabbed some clothes and ran the shower. He sat there for a long time. He n ed to talk to Hotch, he needed to have his Dad back. He needed to know that no matter what he would be safe. He needed advice.

He got out of the shower, dried off, got dressed. To his surprise it was six a.m. He got some breakfast then grabbed the things he'd need for the day and walked to his car. He took his time and arrived at the lab at seven-fifteen. Although he wasn't due in for nine and Horatio wasn't going to be in until eight, he decided to do paperwork. It wasn't until he got out of the car did he notice the big blue circles under his eyes. He unlocked the car again and reached into the glove compartment where he kept the useful concealer he "borrowed" from a friend of his when the nightmares started up again. He dabbed a little under his eyes and checked. _Perfect! _He finally made his way up to the breakroom and grabbed a file from the cabinet.

He was finishing it up when Horatio walked in. " Mr. Wolfe! I wasn't expecting you'd come in today."

" Well I feel much better then I did the last few days." Horatio gave him another look. " I'm fine. Look I just needed a good nights rest and I really don't think any of us has been getting that since the case started. I promise, it's all good!" _Yeah right! _He knew Horatio barely believed it but he really didn't have much of a choice. " Alright then!"

Ryan noticed Hotch entering the lab with the blond haired girl from yesterday and a pretty brunette. " Hey, H, you mind if I step outside for a while? I've been up since four and i think the combination of black coffee and fresh air might help keep me awake!"

" Sure!"

" Great!" Ryan jumped up and made his way over to Hotch just as the girls walked past him. " Surprise!"

" Hey, kiddo! Where'd you head off to yesterday?"

" I kinda got sent home!"

" Why?" Ryan knew Hotch knew why!

" Coffee?"

" Sure." They made their way back outside in silence and headed for the coffee shop across the street. They walked inside and Hotch broke the silence. " So?"

" I had the dream again!" He turned to the waitress. " Can we get two black coffees please?"

" Ryan, I thought we'd been through this the last time. He's in Boston, you're in Miami, it's been ten years. You have to stop living in fear. It'll drive you crazy!"

" You think I don't know that? I think I want to live with the nightmares, the fear, 'cause I don't... I can't!" The waitress came back with their coffees. They both thanked her and grabbed two sugars from the shelves and a stirrer. They walked outside and continued their conversation.

" Ryan, I know you want it to stop, and I know you're scared but there is nothing to be afraid of. Lambert has no idea what you look like now." Ryan looked at him and knew he was right. " I'll never let anything happen to you, I promise!" He placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Yeah... this is way too lovey dovey for me to deal with." Both men laughed and realised how much they'd missed each other.

" Speaking of lovey dovey... How's Haley?" Ryan asked as they crossed the street. When Hotch didn't answer, he knew something was wrong. " How bad is it?"

" She's filed for divorce, but I managed to talk her out of it for the time. She hasn't moved back to the house, though, she's staying at her mom's, she's just agreed to not divorce me! We have a son though, so hopefully it will all turn out alright!"

" Hotch, that's great... but I'm sorry about the divorce!" Ryan said. He got an really eerie feeling.

" What a pair we are, huh? One having martial problems and one having a nervous breakdown?" This was too weird. Ryan felt as though he were being watched and turned to look but saw nothing out of the ordinary. " What's is it?" Hotch asked.

" Nothing," Ryan replied still gazing around.

When they got back on the elevator, Ryan turned to Hotch. " Hey, look, Hotch, the team don't know about my past and I really don't want them knowing, so could you keep it quiet for a while?"

" Of course." The doors opened. Hotch saw Horatio in his office when Ryan saw Calleigh and Eric in the breakroom. They went their separate ways.

" Well, well, well! If it isn't Assy McAss-face," she greeted him with a smile.

" Look... I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for the other night... for what I said, how I acted and the way I treated you. It was uncalled for and unnecessary and I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

Calleigh eyed him. " Not without an explanation!"

" It's just that the case has really been getting to me adn I just want to catch this psycho!"

" What about when you said "if you knew half the crap I have to live with very god-forsaken day of my life... What was that about?"

" C'mon Cal, you were really pissing me off... I had to get rid of you someway!" he said with a smirk. _ Wow you're better at this lying game then you thought._

"That's fair... you're forgiven. It has been a pretty tough case for everyone." She gave him a hug.

" I know and I promise it will never happen again, Cal, you're both my best friends."

" Speaking of catching the psycho... how do you feel about the feds being in on this?" Delko asked. It wasn't a secret he hated the feds.

" I don't really know them," Ryan said.

" I saw you talking to Hotchner yesterday!" Calleigh said.

" That's different. I've know him since I was a kid. He's been like my father! Oh hang on!" Ryan's pager beeped. " It's Alexx."

" Looks like you're going to autopsy... he's struck again last night," Calleigh informed him.

Ryan made his way to the morgue and found Alexx standing over the still bloodied body. " Hey Alexx, what you got for me?"

" Glad to see you're more chirpier then you were!" As Ryan moved closer he noticed that the body looked a lot like him when he was that age: same colour and style of hair, eye colour, even the head shape was the same.

" Alexx are you trying to freak me out?"

" I though he looked a bit like you too, but baby boy, you better prepare yourself for what's under the covers!" She pulled them back. Ryan was horrified to see that the victim had the exact same cuts and bruises he had on his body. Ryan couldn't breath. " Ryan are you ok, you look a little pale?" He looked at Alexx. He knew what this meant and knew it was a message for him. He felt his legs going from under him and after what felt like eternity, he finally hit the ground, eyes closed. He could hear Alexx frantically trying to get to him, to revive him, then a door open, Horatio and Hotchner's voices calling his name and then nothing.


	6. Truth Time

_**Truth Time **_

_Ryan woke up, facing a bright ceiling, feeling eyes on him. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he sat up and looked around. He realised he was in the hospital and in his room with him were the doctor who had taken care of him when he fell of f the tree, Hotch, Hayley and, standing near the back of the crowd was Lambert. He stared at him for a while and then remembered... Lambert came at him from behind and tackled him to the ground. " I want you to do something for me!" he had said, " It'll have to be our little secret!" He put his hand on Ryan's shoulders and began moving them down his arms, his hips and then... Lambert began hitting him_. _Lambert got a knife and put it through Ryan. It caused a huge gash on Ryan's side and Lambert began pulling it all the down Ryan's shorts. Lambert went down and bit Ryan hard. He heard Lambert say, " this is just a example of what will happen to you if you tell anyone!"_

_He sat up straight and didn't take his eyes off Lambert. " Glad to see you're up, young man, you gave us quite a scare!" the doctor said flipping the chart over. _

_" Do you remember what happened?" Hotch asked. Ryan stayed quiet. " Ryan you were attacked on your way to practise, do you remember?" Ryan didn't say a word. He looked at Hotch, as if pleading with him for help. Lambert moved to the side of his bed and grabbed Ryan's hand tightly. _

_" Are you sure you don't remember what happened?" he asked._

_Ryan didn't say anything and looked at him. " If he can't remember, Lambert, he can't remember!" Hotch said._

_" Hotch!" Ryan said quietly. " I don't want him here!" _

_" Ryan he found you... He brought you here..."_

_Ryan looked down at the bed sheets. " I don't want him here!" he said louder._

_" That's completely understandable! Lambert said and left._

_" I better go and tend to other patients!" the doctor said. Hayley took a seat on a chair next to the bed while Hotch sat on the bed on the other side, facing Ryan._

_" Ryan, emmm-"_

_Ryan's eyes misted with tears. " I know!" He wiped the tears away, as Hayley pulled him in for a hug. They stayed in the room for over five minutes, the only sound were Ryan's sobs. He pulled away from Hayley. " Where my parents?" He looked from, Hayley to Hotch and realised. " Working!"_

_" Kiddo, they'd be here if they could bu-" Hotch tried. _

_But Ryan interrupted. " Come on Hotch, that's a load of crap and you know it... they wouldn't even care if the son of a bitch killed me!" Again tears came down his face. " I hate him!" _

_Hotch noticed something. " Him? Ryan do you know who did this to you?" Ryan looked at him as if to tell him. " We can't help you unless you're honest with us!"_

_" I did make it to training!" Ryan told them what happened and began to cry again." He said it was our little secret, that he'd do worse if I told anybody!" Ryan didn't think they believed him and was shocked by what Hotch did next._

_" That son of a bitch," he said as he got up. " He won't get away with this!"_

_Ryan became panicked. " No Hotch, please! Don't, it'll only get worse if he finds out I told!"_

_Hotch saw the terror in Ryan's eyes. He decided to let it subside before he did anything. He slammed his fist against the table and paced the room. " That bastard!" _

_The room was quiet for what seemed like eternity. " You're staying with us until you recover... no arguments!" Hayley said, smiling, breaking the silence. Ryan looked at her and smiled back._

When Ryan woke up, he saw a grey ceiling and heard voices. Everything else was blurry. He recognised Alexx's voice immediately. He knew she would be asking questions and decided to lighten the mood. " Ahhh crap, I'm dead aren't I?? And heaven is actually infact a morgue?" He swung his legs over the table and tried to get up but dizziness took over him. He stumbled and placed a hand on the autopsy table to stable him. Re recognised Hotch as he rushed over to him with a bottle of water and grabbed his arm. When Ryan was safely seated on the table, he handed him the bottle. He closed his eyes as he drank and when he opened them again the blurriness was gone and he saw Horatio and Alexx standing in front of him.

" You know generally, people would reassure someone that they were still alive but... this is, ah, this is good!" He smiled slightly as he tried to keep the fear out of his voice. He knew he was failing miserably.

" What The hell just happened?" Alexx asked.

Ryan glanced at Hotch, hoping he'd play along. " Low blood sugar, I guess. It happens sometimes. I just collapse at the most inappropriate times and stuff!" _That was the most, absolutely, worst lie you've ever come up with, Wolfe! _He wasn't the only one to think so. Hotch scoffed and shook his head. Ryan swung his head to the right to look at him. " What?"

" Son, if you're going to lie to them, then please, make it believable... C'mon "low blood sugar"... It would have been more believable if you had said you were bitten by a snake!"

" You wanna try quick thinking after waking up from bangin' your head on a really hard floor? You'll find it's not that easy!" Ryan realised what he had said and in front of whom he had said it and closed his eyes. _Ohhhhhhh crappp! You sly profiler, you! _

" Mr. Wolfe, what's going on?" Silence. " We can't help you if you're not honest with us!" Ryan smirked at that and looked at Hotch.

" Tell them!"

" Hotch, it doesn't concern them!" Ryan said raising his voice.

" Clearly it does Ryan," He indicated to the other table. " because incase you haven't noticed that kid has the exact same cuts you do!"

Just then, Calleigh and Delko came in. " Where the hell is the autopsy report?" Calleigh asked. they stopped dead when they saw Ryan sitting on the table and the others surrounding him. " What's going on?"

"Thank you!" Alexx said as Horatio said, " Exactly!".

" Nothing!" Ryan said at the same time

" Low blood sugar," Hotch said sarcastically, looking at Ryan.

" Ooo-k!" Delko said.

Calleigh looked at Ryan. "What's goin' on?"

" Nothing!"

" Kiddo, please just tell them!" Hotch pleaded

" Hotch, the body's just a coincidence!"

" I don't care if the body was fricking unrelated to the case, Ryan, they need to know!"

"No they don't!"

" I really don't want to do this, but I don't have a choice. I'm giving you till five to tell them. One-"

" Oh please, you wouldn't my trust."

" You wanna test that theory, don't tell them, three-"

" You're insane! You promised!"

" Five! Your choice!" He turned to face the team. " When Ryan was 15 he was attacked-"

" Alright! I'll do it! You don't tell it right! Before I start, i want you guys to know, I've dealt with this for years and I'm dealing with it now! I don't need pity and I really don't need your help!" Ryan told them the whole story, from his uncaring parents, to when he fell off the tree, to when he was raped and the events afterward...

_Several weeks had passed weeks had passed since the attack. Ryan hadn't been back at school since and certainly not back to training. Even if he wanted to , the chances of Hotch losing it were slim. He had moved in with the Hotchners. He had been there a week and made plans at going home when they told him was staying permanently, much to everyone's delight._

_The morning of his first day back, Hotch decided to ask him about something that had made Ryan freak before. _

_Ryan went down stairs ready dressed and bag on his back. He went into the dining room where he found Hayley. " Hey, your lunch is in the fridge and breakfast is on it's way!" At that exact point, Hotch came in with a tray of pancakes, toast, fruit and cereal. Ryan took a seat next to hayley and put two pancakes, two slices of toast and some fruit on a plate. He poured the cereal in to his bowl and as he squirted the chocolate syrup onto the pancake, Hotch decided to ask him!_

_"Kiddo, we need to talk!" _

_" Ma mouss fu!" he tried to say_

_" It's alright , just listen! We think that maybe you should talk to someone 'bout what happened! Like a councillor or a cop or a-" _

_" Lawyer!" Hayley offered pointing to Hotch, "Or me. Just to talk!"_

_" I'm fine!"_

_" Have you even thought about going to the police?" Hotch asked._

_" Yeah, and I'm not going to! Hotch I know how it works, there's no evidence, no witnesses, it's too late. I'm late!"_

_" Ryan, it's never too late," Hayley said._

_" No, I'm serious, I'm late, I should have been gone five minutes ago. Now I'm gonna have to walk." Thanks for breakfast, good talk. See you guys later!" He grabbed his fruit and ran out the door._

He finished by telling them that that was why he freaked out the night he went out with Calleigh's, friend, insecurity and fear.

" So that night," Calleigh said when he had finished, " that was you dealing with this?"

" Yeah!"

"What about when you collapsed?" Delko asked.

" The vic has the same cuts as me! Same places, same depth!"

" Could this Lambert guy be our guy?" Horatio asked Hotch.

" It's possible! The thought flicked through my head when I got your file! And I'm pretty sure you must have thought it too!" he said to Ryan.

" Why didn't you tell us this before?" Horatio asked.

" Because I knew you'd kick me off the case and I want to work the case... I have to! I need to know I can deal with it, that I can cope. That I can live my life... please let me work this case?"

" Any thought, no matter how small, that you can't do this, you come straight to any one of us, understood?"

" Yes sir!"

" I think you could use a coffee!" Hotch said, slapping him on the back. " Could someone tell Morgan to call Penelope Garcia and get her to do a check on Karl Lambert!"

" Sure!" Calleigh said. As they all headed outside, Ryan got that eerie feeling he got before, like he was being watched. He turned to look but only saw, officers and people going in and out of buildings. He tried to shake it off, and as he and Hotch walked into the coffee shop did the feeling go away!


	7. Safety Worries

Ryan got hardly any sleep that night. Partly because he was high on coffee, partly because both he and Hotch though that Lambert could be capable of this. Horatio had told him to take the next day off if he needed it or to at least come in late. Delko Speed offered to take him out for drinks but Ryan declined and whenever Calleigh or Alexx saw him for the rest of that day, they would always say something like " it's ok" or " you'll pull through." He wanted to kill Hotch for forcing his hand but that night Hotch came to his apartment and they spent the whole night talking about random stuff. They fell asleep on the couch and when Ryan woke up at twelve the next morning by his cell, Hotch was nowhere. He answered his cell. " Wolfe."

" Mr. Wolfe, we need you to come in as soon as possible," he heard Horatio say on the other end of the line and then the click indicating the end of the call.

Ryan quickly hopped into the shower and then left for the lab. He was playing with his phone in the elevator and went into the breakroom. " Hey."

"Hey babe. I thought you weren't in today." Calleigh said worriedly.

" Horatio said to come in whenever I wanted and I just got a call from him. She indicated to the group she and the others were talking to. " Y'all haven't met, have you?"

" I'm Ryan."

" Hi. I'm JJ, this is Morgan, Reid, and Elle."

" You're Hotch's Ryan, aren't you?" Morgan asked.

Ryan smiled and blushed slightly. " Yeah... speaking of, has anyone seen he or Horatio?"

" H's office, baby," Alexx said.

" Thanks," he said and left.

He made his way to Horatio's office and saw Horatio, Hotch and some other guy he didn't know standing close, heads bent, talking quietly. He knocked on the door and let himself in.

" What's going on?"

" You might want to sit down."

" I'm OK."

" This is Jason Gideon." Hotch said, pointing to the man.

" I've read about you."

" Hotch has told me about you and your past," Gideon said looking sympathetic.

" Yea... been doing that a lot lately, hasn't he."

" My analyst back at Quantico did the check on Lambert... It turns out that Lambert was accused of inappropriate behaviour to a cheerleader not long ago actually... just before the killings started. The girl mysteriously dropped the charges and disappeared. Garcia found that Lambert used his credit card for plane tickets to Miami and has been staying in the Garciana hotel for the last two months." Ryan swallowed hard.

" It could be him." He barely heard himself speak.

" We both agreed we don't want you anywhere near this case," Horatio said.

" That should be my decision," Ryan said getting his voice back.

" We have more than enough hands working this case."

Ryan turned to Hotch. " Remember yesterday, when we went for coffee and we were talking about all this stuff..." Hotch nodded. " I think he might have been there, watching."

" I think you should have a security detail," Hotch said.

" No chance!"

" He's right, Ryan," Horatio agreed.

" No!" Ryan practically shouted. There was silence for minutes.

" Tell you what, we'll meet you half way," Gideon said. " You stay in the lab until we get this guy. No obvious security detail and during the nights you stay with one of your friends or something."

Ryan knew he didn't have a choice. He quickly agreed and left, knowing that in the end it would be down to him and Lambert.

**A?N: I was thinking about finishing it there and doing a sequel.**

**Some stuff I was thinking about doing would be a bit strange as a continuation. I am quite into the idea of Hotch and Ryan being romantically involved and it would be weird as a continuation since I practically said they were related.**

**Please Review and give your thoughts. **


	8. Confiding

**Guys... It's been too long...**

Ryan played with the pillow in his hand. _When did life get so messy? _he asked as he listened to the rain fall outside. He craned his neck to look out the window. Aaron had run out to get some food for them but that was an hour ago and he hadn't come back.

Ryan sighed. _It shouldn't't take this long. _He reached for his phone, not sure who to call: Hotch, Horatio. He dropped the phone and reached for his gun which was beside him when he heard the raised his free hand in surrender. "Don't shot… I come in peace."

Ryan smiled. "Sorry."

"It's alright… I get it. You're going through a tough time."

Ryan grabbed two glasses and let Hotch pour soda into them. Ryan looked at the older man. "Is everything ok? With you, I mean?"

Hotch sighed. "Haley… Haley called, and she's… sent me divorce papers."

Ryan sighed. "I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I mean, she already moved out with Jack. I guess I already knew where we were headed but I guess I didn't really want to admit it. Neither of us wanted to."

"Hotch, I am sorry. I can't believe this. Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Hotch glanced up at Ryan. "Can I be honest with you?" Ryan nodded. "I stopped loving Haley a long time ago… I only stayed for Jack."

"What are you gonna do?" Ryan asked, taking a bite from the pizza.

Hotch shrugged. "I don't know." He looked at Ryan. "I guess all I should focus on right now is keeping you safe." Ryan smiled. "Do you want me to call your parents? Let them know what's going on?"

Ryan shook his head. "They don't… We… I haven't spoken to them in a while."

Hotch watched as Ryan stared off into space for a few minutes, slowly chewing the pizza. "What's on your mind?"

"That girl…who accused Lambert of inappropriate behaviour? Where is she now?"

"She disappeared… I'm sure I can get Garcia to find her though. Why?"

Ryan looked at his hands. "I wanna talk to her."

"No."

"Hotch, I just want to know what happened to her. Maybe we can 'profile' the two of us and then find potential victims."

"It's not a good idea."

"Please… Just let me _try_."

After half an hour, Hotch conceded.


	9. Talking to Claudia

Ryan and Hotch drove into the college parking lot. They looked at each other when they saw the familiar hummer. They asked for Claudia Fields and, as they suspected, MDPD were already talking to her. And she didn't like it.

Ryan and Hotch approached them. "I am not going with you," she screamed.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Claudia asked.

Ryan turned to face her fully. "My name's Ryan. I'm a cop an-"

"NO!" And she took off across the courtyard.

Ryan spun on Horatio and Delko. "What the hell did you say to her?"

"Easy, Wolfe we just asked her about what happened," Delko said.

"And it didn't occur to you, with the way I reacted when you kept prodding, that a different route might have been better?" Ryan followed Claudia.

"Mister-" Horatio began.

But Hotch stopped him. "Leave him… He knows what to do."

Ryan found Claudia sitting by a lake. "Hi." She moved to get up. "Please, stay. I just want to talk to you and… in ten seconds, if you don't like what I'm saying, you can go." Claudia sat back down and stared up at him. Ryan took a deep breath and looked out over the lake. "I was his first victim." She gulped and looked away. "I can show you-"

"No! I believe you. I mean, you didn't say, 'I'm Officer Whatever'. You told me your actual name."

"Can we talk?" Claudia slid over on the bench to make room for him.

"When were you…?""Ten years ago. I was fifteen."

"It was last year for me. Just before school ended. And… this will be the first time I've spoken about it to anyone."

Ryan started. "I fell. Broke my leg and, basketball was my life. We got through to the state championships and, to get back into the game, I got extra practice. A few days before the game, he did it…" Ryan took a deep breath. He didn't like divulging this information. "Was it here? Or Boston?"

"Boston…"

"Same. I guess everyone thinks Miami's like a safe haven… That nothing can go wrong."

"Can it?"

"There've been murders. The male victims have similar features to me. And autopsy confirmed that the stab wounds are similar to mine."

"But it could be anyone. Couldn't it?" she pleaded.

"Lambert… Is in Miami."

"What do I do? If he's killing people that look like you then… What if he comes after me again? Please, I don't know what to do."

Ryan nodded. "I need you to come with me. To PD. We'll take some details from you and we'll put you under surveillance." Claudia looked past his shoulder. Ryan looked too. Hotch, Horatio and Eric were approaching them. "They're good people, who know what Lambert is capable of. Please?"

Claudia nodded and gripped Ryan's arm tightly before following him up towards the others.


	10. Nerves

Ryan watched through the window as Claudia sat through her interview. She was reluctant to speak to anyone but Ryan, but after he promised her he'd intervene if she needed him to, she spoke openly to Calleigh and Elle about what happened.

Hotch walked up to Ryan. "How's she doing?"

"Better than I did."

"Horatio's going to set up surveillance around her place so she'll be safe."

"No, she won't. It's been ten years and I still haven't escaped my nightmares."

Hotch squeezed his shoulder. "It will get better. When are you going to settle down?"

"Uhh, I'm twenty five…" Hotch smiled. "And not you." Both men laughed. "I mean… You married when you were like, eleven." Ryan glanced at him and saw Horatio, Delko, Speedle, Morgan and Reid approaching. "You… crazy."

"Alright. I get the picture." Hotch leaned against the window. "Easy tiger."

"How's she getting on?"Hotch folded his arms. "They're nearly done."

"How did you convince her, Wolfe?"

"I'm a… likeable, convincing-"

"Manipulative… annoying," Hotch continued.

"Guy." Ryan smiled. "So what now?"

"Well, we'll give the profile. Your guys will go question Lambert and, with your evidence and Claudia's, we'll have enough warrant and, hopefully we'll find something," Morgan shook his head.

"It won't be as easy as that."

"Ryan." Horatio pointed to the interrogation room. Claudia was staring at the mirror. Ryan walked into the interrogation room.

"You ok?" She nodded. "You're going to go with some officers, they're going to keep you safe." He looked up to see Hotch with JJ and two MDPD officers.

"Are you gonna be there?" She looked pleadingly at him.

"I'll check in." Ryan looked out at Speed and Morgan with another man and felt vomit rise into his mouth. "I just have something to do first." He patted her on the shoulder and walked back out of the room, towards where Morgan and Speed were questioning Lambert.


	11. Free man

Ryan headed straight for the interrogation room. Out of nowhere, Calleigh came out in front of him. Reid, Delko and Greenaway were with her. Further behind, Aaron, Horatio and Gideon were watching the scene.

Calleigh grabbed Ryan's arm. "Ryan don't go in there."

"Why not? I just want to say hi to an old friend." He tried to get past her but she stopped him.

"It's not a good idea."

"But-""No!" Calleigh stared hard at him, her face like stone.

Ryan put his hands up in surrender. "Fine. I'll just go and do some work then. Can you call me when they're done?"

* * *

Ryan was on his way to firearms when he saw them. The two teams in the layout room. He stormed in. "What's going on?"

Aaron looked uncomfortable. "We're discussing the case."

Ryan turned to Calleigh. "Does the sentence, 'call me when they're done' ring a bell?"

"We asked her not to. We didn't think you should be involved in this meeting," Horatio answered, calmly.

"Why not?" Ryan looked from Horatio to Calleigh to Delko to Jason Gideon and finally to Aaron. "Where's Lambert?"

Aaron didn't meet Ryan's eye. "He has a rock solid alibi. Surveillance footage of him at the hotel at the time of the murders. He didn't kill those people."

Ryan felt the blood rush from his head. "But he's here. He's in Miami." Calleigh looked like she was about to say something but he cut her off. "THIS ISN'T A COINCIDENCE!" he shouted. He turned and headed for the door.

"Where you going?" Calleigh called.

"I told Claudia Fields I'd check in on her.

* * *

Ryan drove for half and hour before turning in the other direction and heading towards Claudia's condo. His body seared all over with pain, fear, exhaustion.

* * *

The CSIs walked into the break room. The boys of the BAU were sitting around a table. Aaron Hotchner was standing up, a worried look on his face. He pressed the 'end call' button on his cell.

"Can't get through to Ryan?" Horatio asked.

"I can't get through to JJ. Can you get officers over there fast?"

"What's going on?"

Morgan threw some pictures over to her. She flicked through them. They were surveillance pictures of Lambert in various restaurants in Miami. The same thirty something year old man dined with him in each picture. The time stamps were the same in all of them. Hours before the murders

"We think Lambert has an accomplice."

Calleigh stared at the photos. "And we let him go."

Aaron put his phone to his ear. "And Ryan and Claudia are out there."

* * *

Ryan looked at his phone. _Aaron Hotchner. _He left it in the car as he approached the condo.

**The end is nigh. One more chapter.**


	12. Freedom

Ryan walked quickly to the door. He hesitated as it approached. The door was slightly ajar. The lights were on upstairs. He pushed the door open further and cautiously approached the dark heap on the floor. He pulled it over. He fell down beside Jennifer Jareau, trying to bring her round. Ryan took out his gun. He continued up the stairs and approached the room where the music was coming from. He pushed the door open. A man was holding a gun to the side of Claudia.

Ryan heard the sound of a gun to his right before he heard the voice. "Hey, Ryan."

* * *

Two hummers and two SUVs tore through the streets of Miami, sirens blaring.

"Any word from JJ?" Aaron asked, concerned.

"No," Reid replied.

* * *

Ryan stared at his gun on the floor in front of him. "How did you do it? You're alibi is clear… How did you kill them?"

Lambert looked at Ryan, a sneer on his face. "But I didn't kill them, Ryan. I just kept them satisfied before they died."

Ryan felt the vomit rise. He wanted Aaron. He wanted to be a kid again. To wake up from the nightmare and have the father he always wanted be there next to him and telling him it was all just a bad dream.

"Now, Ryan. I'm going to finish what I started with you and Ms. Fields here, and then my friend here will just finish you." Claudia whimpered.

"Like hell you are." Ryan heard JJ's footsteps before her voice and moved on instinct. As soon as he had tackled Lambert he heard the gunshots. A scream. He closed his eyes as he and Lambert were falling. JJ's voice. Aaron's voice. Claudia's voice.

_Hotch? Maybe this is just a bad dream. _And then he hit solid ground. Glass dug into his body. He opened his eyes. JJ was staring down at him. He felt movement next to him and looked over. Lambert had grabbed a shard of glass and was about to thrust it into his neck.

"NO!" Ryan screamed. He wanted Lambert to live through hell in jail. Someone was gripping Lambert's arms. Ryan looked up. It was Horatio.

Someone was dragging Ryan to his feet. Calleigh walked him over to an ambulance Ryan immediately fell asleep as his head hit the stretcher.

* * *

"So have you heard from Haley?" Ryan asked as he and Aaron threw a rubber ball from one to another.

"No. But I've decided to sign the divorce papers. It's what's best for everyone." Ryan saw the pain in Aaron's face and wished he could help.

But soon the room was overrun with visitors. Calleigh, Eric, Alexx, Speedle and Natalia entered, closely followed by JJ.

"Hey, Hotch, we have to go."

"Ok." Aaron looked at Ryan. "Keep in touch."

"I'll visit. Soon." Aaron smiled and Ryan turned to JJ." Listen… Thank you. For saving my life."

"Don't worry about it. You can make it up to me when you're in DC." JJ smiled. Aaron raised an eyebrow to him. Ryan watched as Aaron disappeared, happy that his past was finally in the past.

**I feel sad now. Oh well.**


End file.
